Rigel
Rigel, also known as Sentinel 8, was the eighth unit in the Sentinel series, and was the enigmatic leader of the secretive Followers of Terra for over three-hundred years, acting under the direct service of The Light. Rigel earned a reputation as a notorious war machine that terrorised the Takiruun, and is one of the key individuals that brought about the demise of the T'Nuan Order, fighting their last Guardian, Sirius, for several centuries. Biography Origin The details surrounding Rigel's creation and initial development are largely unknown, as a great deal of information on his origins is absent from his memory, though it is unknown if any has been restored through his collaboration with the Light. He was created as part of an experimental series of machines called Sentinels, a Terran robotics project that took place over twenty-five thousand years ago. The exact purpose of these machines remains a mystery, though it is believed they were to be part of a defensive system and were a test of exotic Takitrium-based power sources. Twelve of these machines, of which Rigel was the eighth. Each underwent a series of combat trials, the results of which apparently lead to their sealing within orbital stasis pods around various Imperial worlds, likely to be redeployed at a later date. A time would not come for the re-activation of the Sentinels until many years later, during a conflict in which Cassiopeia and Castor were activated, while Rigel and Sirius, the seventh sentinel, remained in orbital stasis. Reactivation Rigel and Sirius were not reactivated until over twenty-five thousand years after their placement into orbital stasis, when Rigel was activated for an undetermined reason, finding his pod in orbit around Takiraah, though a malfunction had left him suspended in high orbit. He was soon discovered by a Follower-controlled Voustrukan vessel in orbit in 4103 aF, who revered him as their new leader as the Light instructed them to. Rigel was not seen for several decades, until the outbreak of the Exiling War. In 4148 aF, growing tensions between the Dosethin Interstellar Republic and Voustrukan Federation eventually escalated to the Takiruun's first interstellar conflict, the Exiling War, much of which was centralised around battleships in Takiraah's orbit. Rigel had managed to work his way onto the federal flagship, the Karikas, in order to oversee the installation of a Follower-designed superweapon intended to be launched towards Takiraah's surface. While making final preparations, he was interrupted by Sirius, who had boarded the Karikas in order to disable the superweapon. Their first meeting since their creation over twenty-four thousand years ago, Rigel claimed to be serving an entity that he called The Light, and that Sirius had 'betrayed' the Empire that created them by serving the Order, which left Sirius confused, causing him to let his guard down. Rigel took advantage of his and attacked Sirius and cast him aside, giving Rigel an opportunity to activate the weapon, launching it towards Takiraah, after which Sirius managed to recover and attempted to engage Rigel once again. His attempts were in vain as Rigel managed to overpower him, striking him numerous times in the head, inflicting him with a large facial scar in his armour, and threw him off the ship. Personality Very little is known about Rigel's personality prior to his re-activation on Takiraah, due to Fomalhaut's control over him completely overriding any previous personality construct he may have developed. While under Fomalhaut's control, however, Rigel was ruthless, remorseless, and dedicated to the Empire above all. Rarely showing any sign of emotion, Rigel showed no mercy to his enemies and had no regrets about any of his actions, even if it involved the slaughter of dozens of innocent humans. Often impatient, Rigel would not hesitate to harm those who kept him waiting and was even more severe with those who betrayed him. Through his imposing stature and clear combat proficiency, Rigel could easily threaten people and, by extension, was very manipulative, often making empty deals with those who would be able to aid him with false promises, often of the paradise at the Empire claimed to be. Skills and equipment Like all other Sentinels, Rigel was a master in many aspects of combat, and as an Medium-type Sentinel, possessed a balance between raw power and agility. He displayed an exceptional ability to switch between offensive and defensive fighting styles between attacks in combat, and was proficient with an extremely large variety of weapons. Though not as strong as the Heavy-types such as Canopus, Rigel was incredibly strong, able to lift large objects such as cargo containers and even small starships with ease, and was extremely skilled in melee combat as a result. His strong shields made him an extremely difficult target to bring down, with the shield not only able to withstand small arms fire from multiple directions, but could also be directed to defend against stronger attacks from known attack sources. Even when his shields failed, which was rare enough, his dense Volite armour plating could withstand blows from all kinds of weapons, even tank cannons and rocket launchers. Although Rigel used a variety of weapons throughout his operational history, many of which were heavy weapons such as chainguns and missile launchers, Rigel was known for his use of the rotary plasmacasters installed on both his arms, vastly contrasting Sirius who rarely used his own unless forced to. Rigel used the weapons for a variety of different purposes, including disabling machinery, taking down opponents, burning holes in walls, to even pure intimidation due to the weapon's advanced appearance. Trivia * Rigel is a wanted criminal in over 367 inhabited star systems. * Prior to being controlled by Fomalhaut, Rigel had two eyes, similar to Sirius. * Rigel is the shortest M-class Sentinel, standing two centimetres shorter than Atria. Category:SentinelsCategory:Characters